This is the adorable seal pup enjoying a new lease of life – after being shunned by her mother for being too UGLY.
With her milk white body and blood-red eyes the rare albino seal was left to fend for herself and would have stood almost no chance of survival.
But now nine-month-old Junior is the star attraction at Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary in Lincolnshire.
Sanctuary owner Dennis Drew found her close to death and weighing just 40lbs – half what it should have been – lying on nearby Sutton-on-Sea beach in March.
He wrapped her in a towel and took her back to his rescue centre where he nursed her back to health before introducing her to the other rescued animals.
He said: “Because they look so remarkably different, albinos do tend to get rejected, and can find it a real struggle to survive on their own.
“Junior was almost certainly abandoned by her mother because she was considered ugly.
“We decided to take her in. All we do is put her on a crate and then place her in the back of the van.
“We had to wrap her in a towel and be very careful because these seals can bite from time-to-time.
“I am just grateful we found her because she is so happy here playing with the other pups.”
Junior has been given the seal of approval by her pool-mates who spend all day splashing around with her to the delight of visitors.
Just two months after arriving at the centre, Junior now weighs a healthy 80lbs and could be released back into the wild by the end of the year.
Dennis added: “If it is possible, we always release them back into the wild where they can fend for themselves.
“Once this one’s put a bit of weight on she will be fine out there.
“They do a travel about a bit, so I doubt she will stay here. It would be great to see her down the beach in future though.”
